Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Two misfits. One extraordinary love. Eleanor… Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough…Eleanor. Park… He knows she’ll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There’s a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises…Park. Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

Don’t let the cute cover mislead you; Eleanor & Park is not your typical high school romance. Set in 1986, the budding love story of the two misfits is still relevant today.

Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.

Told in a dual narrative, this story explores not only young love, but also how different family backgrounds can shape young people, and I think we can all learn a valuable lesson here.

Park is by no means popular, but he’s left alone most of the time, and he’s happy to avoid attention. That is, until Eleanor shows up, and ends up sitting next to him on the school bus every day. He’s embarrassed just to be in her vicinity, and this feeling never truly goes away, not even when they are together. It was heartbreaking. Park is a good guy, but at that age, it’s hard to overcome these feelings, when one never actually learnt true acceptance at home.

Eleanor is the weird one. According to everyone else, anyway. But aren’t we all weird sometimes? Her story hit very close to home. The first red flags appeared when it became clear the reason why she’s the new kid in school is that she’s just returning home after having spent a year elsewhere, with no contact with her mother or siblings for months. All things considered, I’d say Eleanor turned out to be a better person than expected, and her compassion towards a mother who basically dumped her over an abusive man is nothing short of admirable.

The alternating voices of Eleanor and Park draw a sharp contrast between them and their families. Park might have never received his father’s approval he craved for years, but he grew up in a loving and caring family. To his utmost horror, his parents still appear to be deeply in love and are snogging all the time.

As his friendship with Eleanor deepens, and then later turns into love, Park’s dad actually comes around, and alongside Park’s mum, the adorable Mindy, becomes one of the teen’s biggest supporters. It’s him who extends a standing invitation to Eleanor, so she can spend less time with her abusive step father and completely useless mother. Sure, there are rebellious moments he might not handle well, but no family is perfect. As long as there is love, there’s always a way to overcome these situations.

There’s no such hope for Eleanor. Every moment of happiness she feels with Park is overshadowed by the fear of being found out and sent away. As the story progressed, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread that something bad is going to happen, and her relationship with Park is heading toward something disastrous. There’s nothing like a neglectful mother-father duo to make you feel absolutely worthless, to the point where you can’t even believe someone can actually accept and love you; to grow a shell around you that is meant to be comfortingly impenetrable, but essentially it only serves as ammunition for your self sabotage.

‘Why?’ ‘Stop asking that,’ she said angrily. There was no stopping the tears now. ‘ You always ask that. Why. Like there’s an answer for everything. Not everybody has your life, you know, or you family. In your life, things happen for reasons. People makes sense. But that’s not my life. Nobody in my life makes sense…’ ‘Not even me?’ he asked. ‘Ha. Especially not you.’

This book was overwhelming. The ending was confusing and it honestly broke my heart. If you expect a fluffy romance, I have bad news for you. Yes, it has everything a romance should have, but also much more, so brace yourself.

On a slightly happier note: the book has an amazing music selection. I mean, Joy Division…? The cure? Fuckin’ awesome!
You can check out the full playlist on Rainbow Rowell’s website.

Have you read Eleanor & Park yet? What did you take away from the story?

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45 comments

Oh yes The Cure!! It sounds like the relationship was built up really well. I haven’t read this one but I did read Fangirl which was a confusing read for me because I didn’t get the references and I missed the romance in that novel. Sounds like this one would suit me better though!

Oh, I love Eleanor and Park! There’s so much about it that’s great. I like that neither of them is the popular kid falling for the beauty in disguise–they just are who they are. I like that it’s not a love-conquers all story. Some life situations just suck, and a high school romance can’t always save it. It’s been a few years since I read it, but I think this is one few that I would pick up again.

That was a lovely review! 🙂 I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed this book so much – I was surprised by the endin as well, yet in a positive way. Even if it … well, it wasn’t what my heart wanted, it still felt very realistic, raw and just… fitting, somehow. It was sweet, yet serious as well and I loved how the author managed to capture that first love feelin so well ❤

I’ve just read Eleanor and Park for the first time last month. I was left with a warm a fuzzy feeling. Mind you, there was no warm feeling during the creepiness that turned it all. The ending, even though a bit drastic, made sense for a teenage couple where love is “all or nothing”. And yes it broke me too. It was the very last chapter, and if I remember​ correctly the very last page, that left me with the “fuzzles”. The feeling is still there a month after, and the book will always be with me 🙂 Loved your review on it, it was great to be reminded. Thanks!

Book lover, cat hugger, coffee drinker, wiseass, capable of eating half a cheesecake in one sitting. Best not to approach before she had her breakfast.
Loves a good thriller, but would probably not touch romance with a stick. Based on the amount of crime fiction she’s read, could probably solve a crime. Or not, but she would certainly try. Loves science fiction and secretly dreams about joining the Starfleet since she was fourteen.
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